Spectacles, anyone?

Actually maybe contact lenses.

Though, modern technology being the wonderful thing it is.. laser eye surgery, hmm?

Think of how cheered up the doomed-to-wear-spectacles population would've been when they figured they weren't doomed after all.

Is probably as cheered up as you'll be when you see this photo:

After worship prac, dinnertime then..

..pre-service prayer led by Ben.

Get into groups..

..and, together, come before God Himself..

..praying for service that night itself, the speaker, Annual Youth Camp 2012 and fireBRANDS ourselves.

Then have a [toilet] break, have a Kit-Kat.
Actually, no, have some celery and carrot sticks instead. Much healthier. Tasty too.

Habis pecah, pecah ais.
(Finish breaking, break the ice.)

Not before welcoming back some old long-time-no-see! faces =D

Pumped for icebreaker!

Led by Tien Kit (who also did a great job organising combined cell the very night before - check the post below to find out more!).

Why's Ken-Jeen sitting on Lester's thigh, you ask?

Relaxing for a bit?

But wasn't the break enough rest?

On the contrary, icebreaker was tiring!

That's Ming Yen having a workout and Naomi sitting on Naomi.

Yeoh on Yeoh.

Tonaiii-aii-aiight! We are yuhh-ouung! - FUN

So yeah we were playing King-Queen-Jack-NOT! Basically like K-Q-J just that you don't do what Tien Kit says.

..that actually sounds kinda rebellious.

Moving on, it's time to sing out to God.
Worship that night was led by Faith.
And yeah, led by faith too.

"Where would I be without You here in my life?"

Before the night's sermon, we had the night's survey:

More to come on that in the near future, stay tuned.

And, finally, saat yang dinanti-nantikan, we had a very super speaker for the night:

Encik Christopher Koh, of Gateway City Church.

He may be your floorball coach.

He can lecture you on English.

But tonight, he came to bring us God's word.

(I know the sermon notes here are long but it's highly recommended that you read through them and reflect cause it's life-impacting stuff.)

[Dreams and]

VISION

What's YOUR dream?

not the dream you had last night, but your life dream kinda dream

'Cause at this stage in life (youth), having a dream is important. No direction leads to being sesat - caught in a daily routine without knowing what the end goal is.

So we look at Exodus 3 - Moses and the burning bush: the process in which Moses receives the dream/vision from God through that encounter.

To answer that one burning question: "How do I know whether it's God's vision for me?"

'Cause one thing that'll keep you on track is the conviction you've got for the vision - it leads you to go all out for it. Godly vision moves us towards godly action.

So. Here's a guideline to identify what's God's vision in your life.

Things that must and will happen: Godly vision beings you to a place of _____.

1. consecration

consecration (n.): to be holy, from the Hebrew word qadash, meaning set apart for God's will

All of you must be in Him - thoughts, words, being, everything you are. Not just 80% but 110%.

1 Pet 2:9 -  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

In Ex. 3:4-6, Moses was told to take off his sandals, for he was on holy ground.

"take off": an imperative, a command - no running away from it

We need to be holy cause holiness is in line with God's character.

Deny ourselves - from distractions, hindrances, bondages: whatever's holding you back from moving to where God wants you to move, e.g. relationships, friends, habits, etc.

So, ask: What's holding you back?

Desires, struggles, things?

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” - 1 Pet 1:13-16

Guard your mind: remove from unholiness and move to a place of growth.

2. confession

...of weaknesses and inadequacies

Ex 3:11 - "Who am I to do this?"

God's vision will always be big in our perspective. It's beyond our abilities and strength, because He wants all the glory to be directed back to Him.

Here's where our knees meet the holy ground.

However, we cannot stay in this stage all the time, i.e. self-pity, moping, emo-ing.

God wants us to move from confessing who we are (inadequacies and all) to who God is.

Ex 3:14-15 - "I AM"

Never look down on what God can do in our lives. 1 Cor 1:28a - He chooses the foolish things of the world.

Flipside: complacency - we're up there, don'tve to seek God, think we know what we're doing, want glory for ourselves.

Well, God'll pull us down again.

3. compassion

= comm + passion

Communication with God has to be a whole lot more than before, e.g. from Ex. 3 to Moses's death, plenty moments where "God said to Moses" and vice versa.

Many of us assume knowing God's vision is a one-off thing/event; but actually it's a long process that can only be sustained in our life if our communication with God is constant.

When communication dwindles, the vision is lost.

Vision: a growing process that reflects a relationship with God.

And when communication is clear, our passion for God becomes real.

We understand a whole lot more whatever God wants us to do, and it becomes a passion.

Ex 3:7-10 - God began to reveal His passion and heartbeat to Moses.

Vision is separate from end-goal. Vision must become a lifestyle: seeps into every single part of life. Moses did what God wanted for the rest of his life - his leadership, principles came from God.

Ask: Is our communication line with God clear?

Is the best reception and an open line only on Saturday nights / Sunday mornings?

Remember: prepare your mind for action.

"Go after God - whatever it  takes, do it; and don't give the excuse: I'm just a teenager / I'll do that when I grow up; 'cause it doesn't work that way. God wants us now." 

Rachel Joy Scott, victim of the Columbine High School massacre, 1999.

Do you wanna receive God's vision for your life?

Are you willing to be set apart?

Confess: your weaknesses, how much you need God.

Evaluate your communication line with God.

Need 20-20 vision? Time to change your spectacles?